Greg's Latest Responses : Ask Greg

Question from Chip

Chip asks:

Since Garfield needed a Martian animal form to survive the atmosphere, how did he deal with the specifics of acquiring a Martian animal form during his first trip?

Was he stuck inside Bio-Ship until Mâ€™gann brought him a Maâ€™arzuu Beast or something else to observe, or some other solution? Iâ€™m just legitimately curious about the logistics of that first trip and shift,

Greg responds:

The short answer is #NoSpoilers, cuz it's part of an untold story. But I think your basically on the right track.

Response recorded on January 21, 2022

Question from Yojimbo

Yojimbo asks:

1. In the episode "First Impression", one of the screens featuring a photo of a missing local teen. What was her name? (see image labeled "9" in the link: https://twitter.com/DCAUResource/status/1455098505014362112)

2. In the episode "Nevermore", what was the name cameraman at the Markovian Royal Palace? Or was he Pete Danbury? (see the image labeled "10" in the link: https://twitter.com/DCAUResource/status/1455098505014362112)

Greg responds:

1. Don't know. Yet.

2. Pete Danbury.

Response recorded on January 21, 2022

Question from Yojimbo

Yojimbo asks:

1. In the episode "Leverage", was Olga Ilyich an original character made for the show or was she from the comics or an amalgam of characters?

2. In the episode "Leverage", what was the name of the scientist aiding the Rocket Red Brigade? (see image labeled "6" in the link: https://twitter.com/DCAUResource/status/1455097137071411203)

3. In the episode "Early Warning", are Maria and Luis Garcia new characters made up for the show or are they from the comics?

4. In the episode "Early Warning", what are the names of the seven meta-teens rescued along with Luis and Dolphin/Delphis? (see image labeled "7" in the link: https://twitter.com/DCAUResource/status/1455097137071411203)

5.In the episode "Early Warning", what is the name of the officer who was with Ramon Bracuda and Maria Garcia? (see image labeled "8" in the link: https://twitter.com/DCAUResource/status/1455097137071411203)

Greg responds:

1. She was a combination of two characters, Olga and Ilyich, from an issue of Captain Atom that I did that featured the Rocket Red Brigade back in the late 80s.

2. I don't think we named her. Again, I try to name all characters who speak, but not all characters who don't.

3. From the comics.

4. No spoilers.

5. I don't think we named him.

Response recorded on January 21, 2022

Question from Yojimbo

Yojimbo asks:

1. In the episode "Private Security", Grant Park was visited by Artemis and Halo walk through Grant Park to meet up with Zatanna. Is Grant Park located in Star City or Gotham City?

2. In the episode "Evolution", at the end of the battle between the forces of Darkseid and Genghis Khan, was that a cameo by Gravyen among Darkseid's forces?

3. In the episode "Another Freak", what are the names of the following two girl students (image labeled "3a") and the boy student (image labeled "3b") in the classroom? (see link: https://twitter.com/DCAUResource/status/1455094905068343301)

4. In the episode "True Heroes", what are the names of the three meta-teens rescued in Al-Qawiya? (image labeled "4" in the following link: https://twitter.com/DCAUResource/status/1455094905068343301)

5.In the episode "Influence", what are the names of the girl and boy in the cell (labeled "5" in the following link: https://twitter.com/DCAUResource/status/1455094905068343301) aboard The Orphanage?

Greg responds:

1. Star City.

2. Yes.

3. We have, believe it or not, not named every single non-speaking character. Sometimes, as with Henry Fyff, we only come up with a name - identifying said character with a specific DC character from the comics - if and when that character speaks. There are exceptions. Some obvious, like Grayven. Others less obvious, where we were intentionally planting a seed like Lucas Carr's first appearance in "Welcome to Happy Harbor". In any case, I don't know the names of these three students. Might figure it out some day and retroactively indicate as much. Might not.

4. We were planting seeds with two out of these three. The middle one is supposed to be Celia Windward. I think the one on the far right is Wendy Jones. Although the picture's not too clear, and my memory is faulty. It's not Tara Markov, is it? The one on screen left? See the answer to question 3.

5. No spoilers.

Response recorded on January 21, 2022

Question from Masterdramon

Masterdramon asks:

Aloha Greg! Finally caught up with the queue again, and figured I'd "celebrate" my asking my own question for the first time in a while.

First off, absolutely loving just about everything about PHANTOMS so far. The maturity of the storytelling, worldbuilding, and character exploration on display in just the first arc has been stupendous.

I particularly appreciated your acknowledgment in a recent answer of racial blindspots you and the creative team could see in hindsight with the way Mars-16's society was set up, and the genuine effort put into course-correcting here, resulting in a far more nuanced and topical take on racial prejudice and hierarchy than most contemporary shows would even dare TOUCH.

Meanwhile the animation, sound design, and voice talent remain top-notch as ever (particular props to Greg Cipes...people who have only heard him do Beast Boy in the VERY broad take from "Teen Titans Go!" have to have been thrown for a loop by his performance here). The dialogue, both dramatic and humorous, carries a sharpness that few other shows of its type can match. And that heart of mystery and black-ops intrigue, which always gave YJ its own strong, unique identity to set itself apart from other versions of the DCU, remains as strong as ever (though I totally called the king's murderer right off the bat, LOL).

All this combines to create what is shaping up to possibly be the best season of this show yet, and the reason why Thursdays are the day of the week I'll be most looking forward to for the foreseeable future. ;)

Now, to the actual question...

One element introduced in OUTSIDERS that really interested me were the Control Chips used by the Light and their associates. While they seem like garden-variety fictional mind control devices in terms of their utility and effects, their actual origin and functionality are never brought up on-screen, as they are clearly a well-known feature of the criminal underworld by Team Year Eight.

So these are a few of the questions that I've been mulling over since my last rewatch of OUTSIDERS. If any of these are considered to be spoiler requests or touch on unseen elements of PHANTOMS, feel free to skip over, but I figured I'd give it a shot!

1) Who first invented the Control Chips?

2) In "Auld Acquaintance" Vandal mentions that one of the Light's goals was cornering the market, as it were, on "every conceivable method of mind control." As he says this, we get a quick montage of examples from Season 1, including Starro-Tech, G-Gnome telepathy, the Joker's plant-controlling gloves, Queen Bee's pheromone abilities, and Psimon's psychic powers. Were any of these precursors or bases for the Control Chip tech?

3) Anything you're willing to share about how the Control Chip's level of...well, control, compares to the above-mentioned methods? For example, Starro-Tech explicitly only allows an external user remote control of the mind, without actually altering the victim's thoughts. If not neutralized by a Cure Chip, do Control Chips have this same limitation, or do they work along an entirely different vector?

4) Is there a "standard" Control Chip model used by the various meta-traffickers around the world, or is this the sort of case where once the technology exists, unsavory characters of all sorts reverse-engineered their own "flavors"?

5) How does the Control Chip imprint who the victim is supposed to be obeying? Clearly in Jace's case, for example, she had primed the chips she used on Brion and Tara so they would obey her, but is that done by a voiceprint sample, DNA, or some other method?

I'm probably overthinking this one little part of the worldbuilding, but hey, that's what this sight is for! That, and asking for the age of every character who has ever been mentioned for a single femtosecond, LOL...

Regardless, wishing you, the rest of the cast and crew, and all of your loved ones the absolute best! Cannot wait for the next chapter of PHANTOMS to enter my eyeballs.

Mahalo nui loa! :D

Greg responds:

1. They're a spin-off of Starro Tech, created, I assume, by Ultra-Humanite and his compatriots.

2. See above.

3. When activated - and they can be installed without being activated - one has to follow verbals commands, even against one's will.

4. Eh. Mostly the former, but certainly the latter may be happening, as well.

5. There are multiple options, but it does need to be prepped in advance of installation.

Thanks, Masterdramon - for your kind words here and for moderating Ask Greg. I and all the fans owe you a debt!

Response recorded on January 21, 2022

Question from Isaac

Isaac asks:

Hello! I was wondering if you ever watched Robert Kirkman's Invincible (2021) animated series? It's about superheroes and gave me the same vibes as Spectacular Spider-Man and Young Justice (just WAY gorier). I really enjoyed it, and one aspect of it that I absolutely loved was the longer episodes, running about forty-to-fifty minutes each. I know it's way above your pay-grade, but I was just curious, if you had the choice, would you want to extend your episodes to fifty-some minutes like Invincible? Or would you want to keep them a little over twenty minutes? Assuming of course you'd be able to still produce twenty to twenty-six episodes for each season, which Invincible didn't do at just eight episodes per the first season.

Anyways, Happy Halloween! I'm eagerly awaiting the next episode of YJ Phantoms! Artemis' arc is looking to be fantastic!

Greg responds:

I haven't seen Invincible.

In some ways, I'd love to stop worrying about episode lengths entirely. But I'd still want the same quantity of episodes (or more). And budget is definitely a factor. It's been great on the last couple of seasons of YJ that if we have (within our budget) been freed from the constraints of a maximum length. But I don't feel like we've been hugely restricted by running between 22 and 27 minutes. Don't know that we need "fifty-some".

Response recorded on January 20, 2022

Question from Verdragon

Verdragon asks:

What was the process behind selecting the destinations for the Avalon World Tour? Specifically, how and why did you pick the locations that didn't have hard thematic parallels to the Gargoyles (Like Prague in 'Golem') or could have established characters show up there (Like Dingo in Australia in 'Walkabout)?

Greg responds:

They ALL had one or the other. Can you name one that didn't?

Response recorded on January 20, 2022

Question from Anonymous

Anonymous asks:

Why didnâ€™t Gar meet Em'ree on his last trip to Mars like he did Mâ€™comm?

Greg responds:

Em'ree and M'gann weren't close. Gar didn't meet most of M'gann's siblings.

Response recorded on January 20, 2022

Question from Chip

Chip asks:

I was wondering, given their caste differences, how did Sâ€™yraa Sâ€™mitt and Prince Jâ€™emm meet?

Greg responds:

Wow. Martian names and ASK GREG don't go well together, do they?

In any case, as always, #NoSpoilers.

Response recorded on January 20, 2022

Question from Algae

Algae asks:

So... who exactly was "J.W." from the Recruits radio play supposed to be?

Greg responds:

No spoilers.

Response recorded on January 19, 2022

Question from Anonymous

Anonymous asks:

What was Em'ree referring to when she said "I didn't know that" on the Sacred Rivers? What did she not know? And why did she seem shocked at that?

Greg responds:

I think it's extremely clear what she's responding to in that moment, i.e. what was said immediately before she made that statement. So I'll just suggest you watch again.

Response recorded on January 19, 2022